No 74 (F) Tiger Squadron Association
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No 74 (F) Tiger Squadron Association www.74squadron.org.uk Tiger News No 44 Compiled by Bob Cossey April 2007 Association President AVM B L Robinson FRAeS FCMI Honorary Vice President Air Marshal Cliff Spink CB, CBE, FCMI, FRAeS Association Chairman Gp Capt Dick Northcote OBE BA Association Treasurer Rhod Smart Association Secretary Bob Cossey BA (Hons) www.74squadron.org.uk Thanks to the great efforts of John Crow (with the help of David Jones and Doug Tidy and with the understanding of John’s wife Margie who kept losing him to his computer!) the Association website is up and running again – and it looks good. The intention is in time to develop it a little further but as it stands at the moment all the features that Buster Walsh built into it previously it remain intact. Please visit the site and leave any comments in the guest book. Thank you again John. I know that you have enjoyed the experience, having taken the job on without ever having worked on the building of a website before and consequently having climbed a very steep learning curve in double quick time. The results are there for us all to see. Enjoy! De Panne It’s a year since a group of us went across to Belgium to honour the memory of Sqn Ldr John Colin Mungo Park over what was a memorable weekend in itself thanks to the great efforts of Johny Recour who was the prime mover as far as arrangements at De Panne were concerned. It is proposed that if there is enough interest a further visit be made this June to again visit Mungo Park’s grave and meet friends made last year – and for those who couldn't make the trip last year to also see the site where the Squadron Leader’s Spitfire came down as well as enjoy a social occasion. The proposed date of the visit is the weekend of 16th/17th June. If you are interested contact me (Bob Cossey) and I`ll put you in touch. th Annual General Meeting March 10 2007 at The Falcon Hotel, Stratford upon Avon. The minutes of the meeting are as follows. Please keep a copy of these and bring along to the next AGM as a reference for any matters arising. 1. Apologies were received from Boz Robinson, John and Annabelle Howe, Tony Hilton, Bill and Di Medland, John Loosemore, Peter and Edna Carr, Fred Waters, Bill Maish, Simon Bostock, Ken Goodwin, Stan and Anne Ralph, Russ Allchorne, Kev Wooff, Vinny and Denise Brown, Doreen and Nicolette Haselwood, Sarah Doidge, Ray and Jill Morrell, Sir James Brook and Derek Morter. 2. Chairman Dick Northcote welcomed members to the Falcon Hotel for the annual reunion and to all present who had supported the AGM by their attendance. 3. The minutes of the previous AGM as published in Tiger News were agreed. There were no matters arising not covered under the present agenda. Graham Clarke proposed that they be adopted as a true record of proceedings. Robert Johnston seconded. 4. The treasurer’s report was presented by Rhod Smart and the accounts show a balance of £1,245.69. With money set aside for the 90th Anniversary next year, the forecast for 2007/2008 is a balance of £912.95 at March 1st 2008. 5. Committee members offered themselves en bloc for re-election. David Jones proposed and John Crow seconded that they be so elected. For the year 2007 to 2008 the Officers of the Association will therefore be: President – Boz Robinson Chairman – Dick Northcote Treasurer – Rhod Smart Secretary – Bob Cossey 6. John Crow has agreed to become the webmaster for our website at www.74squadron.org.uk and has been working hard to bring it back into operation. There are still a few issues to resolve but even so that was projected to be by the end of April 2007. The Association’s sincere thanks were proffered to John as they were to David Jones and Doug Tidy for their support whilst the site has been under reconstruction. 7. Next year marks the 90th Anniversary of 74 Squadron as a front line unit and a special reunion celebration will mark the occasion. Various ideas will be explored by the Committee – but the membership can play their part too by talking to all those that they know who were members of the Squadron but who are not members of the Association. If they can be persuaded to join and then book for next year’s event we can enjoy a truly memorable evening with record numbers attending 8. Rhod and Bob made a short presentation on the City of Norwich Aviation Museum (CNAM) which is housed at the former RAF Horsham St Faith (currently Norwich International Airport) and which is very keen to include the Association’s proposed Tiger Museum on its site. The plans for this are ambitious and include the purchase and construction of a purpose made hangar in which a Hunter aircraft in 74`s 2 colours would be a centrepiece with surrounding display cases telling the Tiger’s story. The total cost of this would be in the region of £55 – £60,000, approximately half of which would be available in grants and donations from charitable bodies and business. That leaves £30,000 for the Association and the trustees of CNAM to raise. Dick, Rhod and Bob will form a Museum sub-Committee to actively pursue ways of doing this and David Jones volunteered to join them. Any other members who wish to assist would be very welcome. We already have in excess of £500 in the Museum account largely thanks to Wg Cdr John Freeborn who donates the money he receives from book and print signings to the fund and for which we thank him. 9. RAF ACE (Royal Air Force Association’s Combined Event) in September 2006 was highly successful despite poor weather. At the time the hope was expressed that it could be repeated and 2008 is a possibility as the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the RAF. The 56 Squadron Association has expressed an interest in taking the lead in organisation but it was suggested that as RAF ACE was our idea in the first place we may feel we would not want to hand it over to 56. The meeting however felt that with all our energies being directed towards the 90th Anniversary of the Squadron and the Tiger Museum, to take on the organisation of another high profile event would be a step too far. It was agreed therefore that 56 should lead if they so wished. The Tigers would of course support them in whatever way possible. Date of Next Meeting – Saturday March 1st 2008 th th Annual Reunion – March 9 – 11 2007 at The Falcon Hotel, Stratford upon Avon Thank you to all who attended another very successful reunion over the second weekend in March. The weather was fine and the Company as ever very good! Four senior members at the Reunion Dinner – left to right John Freeborn, Doug Tidy, Derek Morris and Ted Mansfield. 3 We were particularly pleased to welcome five new members. Albert Bartholemew, who was a Tiger from 1944 – 1946, brought his family with him – his wife Doris, daughter Beverley and son in law Michael. Irene Skinner’s husband Bill flew with 74 during the Battle of Britain but a year later was shot down and captured, spending the rest of the war as a POW. Bill sadly died a few years ago but his widow decided to she would like to join us at Stratford and we were absolutely delighted that she did. Irene is 86 and drove herself up from Rottingdean to do so. She’s a true Tiger! And then we had a pair of Tengah Tigers with us for the first time – Des Schweppe and John McCarthy. Those from the Lightning era were in the ascendancy this year, outgunning the Phantom boys by several to one although ex Phantom Tiger Keith Griffin did his best to narrow the gap by flying in from Brisbane, Australia, for the occasion, thereby winning the virtual prize for travelling the longest distance to be with us! Incidentally a few of the Tengah Tigers are returning to Singapore in June to revisit old haunts and take a look at the base which is now in the hands of the Singaporean Air Force. They will be visiting the Tiger Brewery as well and will take with them items of the Association’s memorabilia and a Squadron shield for presentation. Have a great trip guys and tell Tiger News all about it when you return! Our guest of honour was, as always, Wg Cdr John Freeborn DFC* who always enjoys being amongst fellow squadron members at Stratford and is with us every year. John is now 87 and has never lost that Tiger spirit and determination. We must say a special thank-you to Dave Ketcher for bringing along his flight simulator software. He has Tiger aircraft from all eras and at the end of the evening the room echoed to the roar of jet engines as Hunters and Meteors and Lightnings took to the virtual skies – and indeed remained airborne into the early hours. Next year is the 90th Anniversary and some very special events are planned. So please put the weekend of Friday 29th February to Sunday March 2nd 2008 in your dairies. And please spread the word. There are still many ex Tigers out there who haven’t joined the Association and who are known to many of you.